


What's Beyond

by orphan_account



Series: Archbishop [4]
Category: Fire Emblem Series, Fire Emblem: Fuukasetsugetsu | Fire Emblem: Three Houses
Genre: Angst and Fluff and Smut, Bittersweet, F/F, Femslash, Hurt/Comfort, Rhealeth, and about sothis, real introspective about rhea and her emotions post-war
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-12-11
Updated: 2019-12-11
Packaged: 2021-02-25 20:47:52
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,772
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21751720
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/orphan_account
Summary: even long after the war, Rhea is cruel to herself, and Byleth pledges to help her fight her inner demons.
Relationships: My Unit | Byleth/Rhea
Series: Archbishop [4]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1540240
Comments: 6
Kudos: 76





	What's Beyond

**Author's Note:**

> they fight
> 
> because they love

The flowers were blooming quite beautifully in the greenhouse of the monastery. They always did, this time of the year. Byleth paced through it, occasionally touching the flowers’ colorful petals.

It had only been a few days since the end of the war, but it still felt like a lifetime.

The efforts to reorganize, restructure, and heal this newly united Fódlan would be long, and they would be taxing. After all, the continent had not existed as a singularity in over one thousand years. Much of the population was traumatized and afraid. And most of the former nobility certainly would not be so happy to have their high status stripped.

But Byleth and her allies would work through it, she told herself, step by step. She had many capable minds around her, all willing to lend her their knowledge and abilities.

And, more importantly, she had Rhea. The woman who had not only lived in a united Fódlan before, but had seen the intricacies of its governance - its _peaceful_ governance, mind. That was the self-declared key element in Byleth’s leadership. Peace. She vowed to protect the peace to the best of her ability, whilst also allowing the people to retain their freedom. A trying task, but one that she knew she could carry out, so long as she had Rhea by her side to help her. Guide her. Love her.

Byleth had started to wear her hair up, recently. She wasn’t entirely sure why she did. Something symbolic, perhaps. A way to help her embrace her new role. Most days, she had it in an elegant ponytail that left just a single shorter strand hanging down, framing her face. She’d gotten lots of positive feedback on it, which - if she was honest with herself - made her quite happy.

Satisfied with her little walk in the greenhouse, Byleth went about searching for Rhea. The sun was close to setting, and this was their usual time to meet up for dinner. She hadn’t seen her throughout the monastery all afternoon, so she asked around. The monastery’s jolly gatekeeper informed her that he’d seen Rhea walk through the gates just a bit earlier, heading outside. Byleth thanked him for his information, and the gatekeeper gave her his infectious smile.

The edge of town was busy as always, with commerce still in full activity. But even then, as it were, Rhea was not difficult to find. Not for Byleth.

She spotted her by a street corner, kneeling as she cradled a young child that cried in her arms. Nearly every person that walked by did a double take - Rhea was not exactly someone that blended well into the ground. Still, no one approached them - they would perhaps pause for a second or two, stare, then keep walking.

“I know, I know,” Rhea cooed at the little girl. She ran her hand soothingly up and down her back, until the girl’s sobs slowly began to dissipate. Byleth watched, feeling kind of entranced. Rhea looked up and met her gaze, giving her a look of acknowledgment.

She gently pulled the girl from her shoulder, smiling serenely. “Don’t you worry, little one. I know that the Goddess will hear your prayers. I will offer some of my own, tonight. I will pray that your parents may spend a joyous eternity in the Goddess’ kingdom of light.”

The girl sniffled, her tiny round face reddened and wet with tears. “Y-You promise?”

“I promise.” Rhea gently wiped a tear from her face. “Try to dry those tears, now. You are stronger than you think.”

Finally, a little smile emerged on the girl’s face. “Okay. I’ll try.” She hugged Rhea again. “Thank you so much, Lady Rhea.”

Rhea held her a bit longer, then stood straight, finally turning to face Byleth. “Byleth, my dear. This little one is Clarice. I just met her this afternoon.”

“Oh!” Yelped Clarice. Seeing Byleth startled her. Rhea squeezed her hand in reassurance. “F-forgive me, I— I didn’t know you were here!”

Byleth tried to put on her best friendly smile. “That’s okay. Nice to meet you, Clarice.”

“Clarice lost her parents to the war, recently, as well as many who lived in her village. I was just telling her that we would put in the best effort possible to restoring the village, as well as healing the hearts of those that remain,” Rhea said.

Byleth’s stomach twisted. “Oh, Clarice…” She still wasn’t much good with words, so she was simple, yet sincere. She lowered herself to Clarice’s level, looking into that starstruck gaze. “I’m so sorry to hear about your parents, and your fellow villagers. Such a terrible loss…” she paused, inhaling. “But it’s as Lady Rhea said. We will do anything and everything we can to help.”

“Will you pray for me?” asked Clarice, hopeful.

Byleth smiled wider. “Of course.”

Clarice sniffled, wiping another tear. “Th-thank you, Your Grace.”

Byleth stiffened, not expecting that title. “Pardon?”

“Oh! Um. That’s… That’s what Auntie Marie told me to call you…”

“I see,” Byleth said. They heard a female voice calling Clarice’s name from behind them. “I-I have to go back home now! Bye-bye Your Grace, Lady Rhea!”

Rhea waved to her as she ran off, but Byleth was left paralyzed. Rhea looked at her, tilting her head. “What is it?”

“She called me _'your Grace'_. I don’t…”

“Do you not like it? The people, I have heard, are not sure what title to address you with. If you like, we can announce a different one to them.”

A title. Even after everything, such a concept still felt so foreign to Byleth. Titles were for royalty, nobility, church officials. Which… she was now, more or less? She didn’t even know.

“Do I need a title?” she said.

“You needn’t think about it now. There will be time.”

Rhea’s expression soured, and she sighed. “That poor dear. She is, of course, only one of countless new orphans. So many people have lost everything. Healing Fódlan again… it will take so long. I hardly know where to begin.”

Again. That was the word that mostly stood out to Byleth, from what Rhea said. Rhea had already been through all of this, once. That this task fell once again to her shoulders felt nothing short of cruel.

“Rhea, I—”

“Not here,” Rhea cut in, putting a hand on her shoulder. “Not here, my love. It will be dark soon. Let us head to dinner.”

Byleth nodded, and they walked side by side on their way back to the monastery. She knew that Rhea would try to avoid the topic, told herself she wouldn’t let her get away so easily.

* * *

They took their dinner in the mess hall that night, as had recently become routine for them. Rhea was still getting used to spending so much time around other people, but they both agreed that it was an important part of shedding her old image of Archbishop. It didn’t make it any easier on her, of course. Living in relative isolation for so long made her nervous to be in a setting like this. Surrounded by people, chatter, laughter. Part of it was pleasant. Nostalgic. But she was still hyper-aware of the extended glances the others gave her. Evaluating, probably. Making all sorts of judgments about her. Deciding whether she was worthy of being there in their midst.

“Rhea?” called Byleth’s voice. The static in her ear faded (had she just imagined it?), and she turned to the others around the table, who all seemed to be waiting for an answer from her.

“Oh, forgive me. I must have gotten distracted. Might you repeat the question?”

A man she didn’t recognize cleared his throat. “We asked, Lady Rhea, if the renovation efforts have been satisfactory to you thus far.”

Rhea put on that sort of smile. The saccharine, artificial one. “Very satisfactory. It does me well to this place slowly come back to life.”

The man grinned, as did the others around him. Regardless of everything that had happened, and of what Rhea thought of herself, the vast majority of the people still idolized her, Byleth concluded. Still adored her, yearned for her approval. Her highly tactical mind immediately figured that this was something they could use to their advantage in the recovery efforts, but she stopped that thought in its tracks.

She wondered if it was tyranny. Mind control. The exact sort of thing that corrupted the church over the years, and that Edelgard fought and died to dismantle. She bit her lip.

By the time Byleth and Rhea finished their meals, the majority of those around them had left to either their sleeping quarters, night duty, or the tavern. She turned to look at Rhea.

“Should we retire for the night, too?”

Rhea faced her, and nodded slowly. They gathered their plates, handed them to the smiling cleaning staff, and began the long trek up to the third floor, where Rhea’s quarters - their quarters - were.

There was a tense, uncomfortable silence in the room as they worked on dimming the lights, and lighting smaller candles instead. And undressing.

Byleth glanced over her shoulder, watching Rhea finish the process of removing her daytime robes, and putting on her simpler cotton sleeping gown. She struggled to not let herself be distracted by the sight of Rhea’s perfect body in the gentle, flickering candlelight.

Rhea crawled into the bed first, and Byleth swallowed. She followed her, but kept a respectable distance between them.

The heavy, deafening silence of their quiet breaths only went on for a short moment.

“What’s on your mind?” asked Rhea. She sounded quite serious.

Byleth pondered if she should try to hide it, but then just as quickly, reminded herself that this was Rhea she was talking about. Trying to hide the truth from her would be useless.

“There’s a lot on my mind, Rhea. You’re very tense around me, for one,” Byleth said, blunt as always. Rhea turned on her other side so she could face her, and the expression on her face was very serious. Just short of a frown.

“I sensed as much,” she said.

Byleth bit her bottom lip. She didn’t know how she could even begin to process all of the emotions that were fighting inside her. She took a breath, and tried to speak plainly, addressing the very thoughts that formed in her mind.

“You’re hurting, Rhea. You’re hurting way more than you’re allowing me to see. You’re getting out there, doing what you think is best for others, and for me, but,” she paused, inhaled, and went on, “but you’re putting too much work on your own shoulders. I… I know that having to take on this task is wearing you down more than you’re letting on. I understand that you’re hiding it from the others, but… Why are you hiding it from me, Rhea? Didn’t we promise to be there for each other always, no matter what should come?”

Rhea averted her gaze. This was a very heavy topic for her to face.

“You wouldn’t understand.”

Those words frustrated Byleth. What was there not to understand? She knew Rhea’s full history by now. Knew what she had done, what she had lost. They had looked into the face of hell itself and faced it - conquered it - together. She was convinced, to the deepest core of her being, that she and Rhea could overcome anything, as long as they had each other. Rhea had said as much too, that day (that beautiful, wonderful day) when they exchanged rings. So what… What could be stopping her now?

“Rhea. I do understand. Surely you saw it earlier, when we were talking to that young girl - Clarice, I believe it was? The way she looked at you like you were her entire world. And even the workers we chatted with at dinner, they also _—_ ”

“YOU DON’T UNDERSTAND!”

Byleth quickly drew back. She had not heard Rhea shout like that in a long time. Not since the war. She scooted back on the bed, putting more space between them. Tears were forming in Rhea’s eyes.

“Yes. The child lost her family, and she looked to me for spiritual comfort. And the workers looked to me for appreciation of their efforts. They look to me to be their savior, because I was, for all of those hundreds of years. But I cannot be that anymore. Not after this war. Not after they all know the truth. I don’t deserve it. I don’t-”

“Rhea-”

“It was never _meant_ to be me!” she shouted to the mostly empty, quiet room. She was beginning to sob, now. “It was never meant to be me. It was my mother, who should have been in that position. Always my mother. She was the one who had the power, grace, and kindness, to lead the people to a new dawn. I told you. I acted as a mere proxy for her, all of these years. And now… you’re here.”

Byleth’s breath caught in her throat. But Rhea went on. “You’re here, and you’re not my mother, but you’re every bit the leader that Fódlan needs. Perhaps you’re… even better than she could be. Because unlike her, and unlike me, you are human. I thought that I could save the world of man in her place, but I have been proven wrong time and time again. It doesn’t need me. It needs you. And I am getting in your way.”

Rhea curled into herself. Hot tears were pouring onto the sheets that she pressed into her eyes. Byleth watched her, trying in vain to hold back her own tears. Seeing Rhea like that hurt too much. Hearing her words hurt too much. She felt the pain not just in her heart, but in her entire body, as if it were clutching her like vines.

“Rhea… please…”

She crawled closer to her, and covered her hand with one of hers. “You can’t say things like that. You say that I’m the leader that Fódlan needs. But I can’t be that person, can’t lead, without you by my side. I need you, Rhea. I need you to guide me. Don’t you see? I—”

She sniffled, wiping her eyes with her free hand. “I’m nothing without you, Rhea. If there’s anything I’m sure of, it’s that. I need you with me, or I can’t go on.”

She leaned down, and pressed a kiss to Rhea’s forehead. “So please... Don’t say things like that. Don’t be so cruel to yourself.”

Rhea looked at Byleth through the mist of her tears, silently at first. Her mind was racing, and Byleth could tell as much.

“What are you thinking?” Byleth said.

Rhea bit her lip. “I’m thinking that I spent an eternity longing to hear such words from you. That you want me, need me. That you want to work alongside me for the greater good. But now that my dream has come true, I fear that I don’t deserve it. Your heart is good and true, just as hers was. And I’m…”

“Rhea _—_ ”

“I’m nothing like that. The world I helped create was not good, or just. I let the heartbreak of losing my family corrupt me over the years, and arrived at a point where I could sentence a man to death without so much as raising my brow. Sacrifice innocent lives.” She trembled, curling further into herself, started to resemble the way she looked when Byleth rescued her from her cell in Enbarr. “I have become a monster. My mother would be ashamed me.”

Byleth clenched her fists. She felt a rush of adrenaline light up her body - her mutual love and anger towards Rhea colliding. It happened before she could even think about it.

“Rhea. Look at me.”

Rhea did, and Byleth raised her hand, then brought it down in a direct blow to Rhea’s cheek. There wasn’t enough force for it to truly hurt, but certainly enough to get her point across. The fair skin of Rhea’s cheek turned pale red where Byleth’s palm struck it.

“Rhea. I can’t let you continue to say things like that. Are you even hearing yourself?”

“I _—_ ”

“Calling yourself a monster? Why, because you took lives? Who among us hasn’t taken lives, Rhea? When I was still a mercenary, people called me the Ashen Demon. They did so because of my ability to kill without showing emotion. I am no better and no worse than you. Nor is any other soldier in our army.”

“But _—_ ”

“But _what_ , Rhea? You went through so much. You watched everything you love be brutally stolen from you, and yet you still poured your entire existence into trying to make Fódlan a better place, to the best of your ability. The result wasn’t perfect, but Goddess, Rhea, you’re only one woman. Sothis may have been a goddess, but you are not. You _—_ ”

“Don’t speak her name so casually!” Rhea snapped. Byleth’s face went tense with indignation.

“Sothis!” She exclaimed. “Sothis, Sothis, Sothis! I bear her heart, and I can say her name if I want to.”

“How… dare you…!”

Rhea lunged for her, but Byleth’s reaction was instantaneous. She caught Rhea’s wrists and pinned them down, securing her to the mattress. The growl that left Rhea’s lips was distinctly inhuman. As if to remind Byleth that she may not have been a goddess, but she was still the child of one. A dragon. Byleth mustered her strength to hold her down.

“I’ll not allow you to speak of yourself that way. If that’s how you think of yourself, then I’ll fight to prove you wrong.” Despite her piercing gaze bearing down, Rhea still fought her, at least somewhat. “And you must get used to me saying Sothis’ name. Do you know what she would say if she say you acting like this?”

At that, Rhea stopped thrashing. She went completely still, and met Byleth’s eyes with her tearing ones. It was like she’d been pierced by an invisible arrow.

When she spoke, her voice was soft and gentle, almost submissive. The bite to it vanished. “She would… call me a petulant child.”

Byleth’s expression softened, at last. She smiled, relaxing her grip on Rhea’s wrists. She still held them, but gently enough that blood could keep flowing through.

“That’s right. And she would not be so happy with you for being so cruel to yourself, would she?”

“No…”

Byleth had never witnessed Rhea looking and sounding so meek. It hurt her, and yet also made her feel warm at the same time.

“I know that you were with her far longer than I was… But I still got to know Sothis quite intimately. So much so that I still struggle to call her “the goddess”. You must know that.”

“I do,” Rhea said.

“Then you agree that she would be displeased at the outburst you just had. That she’d likely call you-”

“- a big fool,” Rhea finished for her.

Byleth grinned. “Exactly.”

Rhea relaxed with a long, exasperated sigh, finally leaning comfortably against the pillows. Byleth released her wrists, and cupped her cheek instead.

“That’s Sothis, though. Do you know what I’m thinking now?”

“I have… a vague idea,” Rhea answered, brutally honest. Byleth leaned closer to her.

“I think I want to have another chance to show my most beloved person just how special she is.”

She pressed a soft kiss to Rhea’s cheek, then her earlobe. Rhea shivered beneath her. She tangled a hand into Byleth’s hair and curved her body into hers.

“You know, my dear… You’ve been quite talkative tonight. Far more than usually are.”

Byleth licked along her ear up to its pointed end, eliciting another little shiver, and a muffled gasp. “And you have been much more angry than you usually are.”

“Forgive me,” Rhea said, running her palms up and down Byleth’s arms despite herself. “I do find it hard to control my emotions, at times.”

“I know,” Byleth said. “I know, and honestly… it’s kind of hot.” She bit at Rhea’s earlobe, and firmly cupped her breasts at the same time. Rhea moaned.

“Are you saying you find my anger attractive?”

“Oh yes,” Byleth confessed, smoothing her face down, pressing a kiss to Rhea’s neck, and another to her collarbone. “I… Really do.”

“Should I be angry before you more often, then,” Rhea asked, tugging at her nightdress, and pulling it off when she gave her the space to do so. Byleth, too, lifted Rhea’s gown up, and up, until those beautiful breasts were bare for her.

“Perhaps you should.” Byleth kissed her, and the energy that fueled their kiss was instant. They both groaned, their hands clutching each other’s bodies and pulling them close. In just moments their emotions were translated into desire, such that they couldn’t help but be close, to have their bodies touching.

When their long, messy kiss separated, they were shuffling about the bed, shifting their limbs to find the best possible angle so that they could find each other. And when they did, it was heaven.

“Byleth. Oh, _Byleth,”_ Rhea sang.

“Rhea,” Byleth responded. “Please, inside.”

Rhea obliged, and Byleth mirrored her movements. Their bed quickly became a little piece of heaven, scorching hot despite the chill of the night. Their fingers thrust inside of each other, moving rhythmically with their hips, occasionally accompanied by another brief, wet kiss.

“Byleth,” Rhea moaned. “You feel so _good_ , Byleth.”

Byleth panted, attempting to keep her fingers’ movement focused through the almost drunk-like haze of her pleasure.

“Feel good, Rhea? Want me to make you cum?” she taunted, letting her own words add to their arousal.

“Yes,” Rhea gasped, delirious. “Make me cum, my love, _please.”_

“Rhea _—_ I’m going to cum too. Come here _—_ ” She hooked a hand behind Rhea’s neck and pulled her in for another kiss. Their lips and tongues swiped and sucked at each other as they brought each other to sweet, glorious orgasms.

Rhea was still panting, trying to regroup, when Byleth pulled her close and pressed a kiss to the top of her head. Rhea curled her body, indulging in that loving embrace.

“What am I going to do with you?” Byleth murmured.

Rhea took her hand, kissed the back of it, then relaxed within her arms again. “I care not, so long as we’re together.”

“And we always be, Rhea.”

Only a few seconds passed before they were, yet again, asleep against each other. And not for the first time, Byleth dreamed of a very embarrassed Sothis, chiding her for being so embarrassingly sweet with her daughter.

**Author's Note:**

> have a suggestion/request, or are interested in commissioning me? shoot me an email at shinycommissions@gmail.com ~


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